Now is not the time for a concrete block levy, say Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators

Now is not the time for a levy on concrete blocks, a meeting of members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party has heard.

Speaking after Tuesday’s meeting, Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill said the “unanimous view [was] that with inflationary pressures, now isn’t the time to introduce this levy”.

The group, chaired by Dublin West TD John Lahart, met Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien on Tuesday about the levy, announced by the Government as a means to raise funds to cover part of the cost the €2.5 billion redress scheme for homes affected by mica defects. Afterwards, some members said they felt a deferral beyond this year’s was needed.

Mr Cahill said he believed the concerns of the parliamentary party would be taken on board as the Finance Bill, which gives effect to measures announced in the budget, worked its way though the legislative process.

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Sources said the members present had a range of concerns if not with the general principle of the levy, then with the timing and application of it. “The general push was for an awful lot more thought put into it before it’s levied,” one source present said.

Mr O’Brien and Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath, who was unable to attend the meeting, are to put together a paper on the levy highlighting the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party views and pass it on to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.

The meeting heard a variety of concerns from members, including the breadth of the application of the levy, which is to be placed on 18 different categories of product, and its impact on cross-Border trade and imports and exports.

Some concrete manufacturers believe the 10 per cent levy would make the export of products unviable, while giving those importing such products into the State a competitive advantage.

There were also calls for clarity over who would be liable for the levy — including precast concrete firms, suppliers of sand, or whether it would be confined to manufacturing.

The meeting heard multiple contributions saying that issues around the levy risked detracting from what had been an overall successful budget. One source said attendees accepted there was a need for “repercussions” for the building industry and that the construction industry should moderate its tone and acknowledge that an industrywide issue gave rise to the mica problem.

However, the potential impact of the levy at a time of housing shortages and the potential for it to add to the cost of homes were significant concerns, a source said.

Carlow-Kilkenny TD John McGuinness was said to have made a strong contribution on the issue of illegal quarries, Laois-Offaly TD Barry Cowen raised the issue of the impact on farm buildings, which contain large amounts of concrete, and Longford-Westmeath TD Robert Troy said there could be knock-on impacts on other professionals.

They were joined by Senators Paul Daly, Robbie Gallagher, Eugene Murphy and Shane Cassells and TDs including Cathal Crowe, James O’Connor, Christopher O’Sullivan, Joe Flaherty, and Paudie O’Sullivan.